


Mating Season

by Fericita



Series: All Is Found [10]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), Frozen 2 - Fandom
Genre: Anna is Northuldra, F/M, Kristoff is Black Mountain, Northuldra (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:00:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23174317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fericita/pseuds/Fericita
Summary: Anna, having grown up Northuldra with her family in the Enchanted Forest, meets Kristoff of the Black Mountain for a reindeer exchange.Thank you Spastic Fantastic for developing this with me and beta-ing!
Relationships: Agnarr & Iduna (Disney), Agnarr/Iduna (Disney), Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Elsa & Honeymaren (Disney), Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Series: All Is Found [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624150
Comments: 26
Kudos: 130





	1. Chapter 1

It was no surprise to Elsa that Anna saw Kristoff and immediately claimed him. Wanting an epic love story was something Anna was always dreaming about and talking about and sighing about. Elsa suspected it was more for entertainment than an actual need for love, because Anna quickly tired of the men she spotted and cooed over. Sometimes before ever even talking to them. 

She had ruled out every man in their Northuldra tribe. “Yuck! They’re all like brothers or uncles or cousins or feel that way even if they’re not. It’s alright for you; it was very romantic that you surprised everyone including Honeymaren by liking girls. Maybe I’m like Papa. I’ll have to go somewhere else to find it.”

But on their trip to Arendelle when Anna was sixteen, she dismissed the entire kingdom by saying “I do like how tall most of them are, but wow are they obsessed with saunas. It would never work.”

Elsa had laughed to hear that the one trait that made Anna, a daughter of Northuldra, incompatible with Arendellian men was sauna usage and not, say, living entirely indoors or leaving the magical enchantments of their forest behind.

Once a young man with red hair had stumbled into their lands, asking for help and claiming to be escaping the ire of his brothers. Yelana had turned him out immediately, though Anna had said he seemed handsome enough to warrant a hearing before the elders.

Yelana had refused. “There’s something wrong with him. I can just tell.”

At first, Anna’s parents had worried about this obsession she seemed to have with love, but when it didn’t manifest into her doing anything crazy, they relaxed about it. Her mother even intimated that she should be more patient with the men who were clearly interested in her. Anna had wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

“No! I want a story like you and Papa. It’s so romantic. You almost died for each other! I’d get too bored loving a man from here.”

Iduna had stroked Anna’s hair, pulling her close before she spoke. “How could love between two people ever be boring? The person you most admire admires you the most. That's a miracle.” Iduna stroked her hair again, grateful that even at twenty, Anna still enjoyed cuddling with her. “Like boska keeping sickness away or reindeer all calving within ten days of each other. It’s common, but that doesn't make it less beautiful. It’s a daily sacrifice, sometimes of small things and sometimes big.”

So when Anna had seen Kristoff shake Yelana’s hand and told Elsa that he was hers, Elsa had laughed and rolled her eyes. Walking back towards the village, she and Honeymaren had talked about how long it would be until Anna found him “too something” as well.

***

Gathered around the fire, the people of the Black Mountain huddled in small groups. Anna noticed they seemed tense, the lines of their mouth not turning into smiles even when Bruni showed off by lighting torches that had been set in a pattern honoring the tribe’s antler symbol. The ones holding walking staffs gripped them tightly and their eyes were alert and sharp as they watched the festivities. They stayed at the edge of everything, rather than joining in with the singing.

“They probably don’t know the songs. Not everyone knows Northuldra chants,” Elsa said when Anna pointed this out. “Besides, don’t pretend you’re watching more than just their leader. Kristoff. He’s more dour than them all. Some of the others are having fun.”

She pointed at one young boy who Ryder lifted onto a reindeer, showing him how this particular one liked to be scratched behind his left ear. “See? He’s having a good time.”

Anna looked at Kristoff. She had been doing so most of the evening and had stopped bothering trying to hide her glances. He wasn’t paying attention. He was glowering into the fire, eyebrows knit together, arms crossed. “He’s sad, not dour. And I’m going to find out why.”

Elsa linked her arm through Anna’s. “He’s not a wounded ptarmigan or lame fox you can nurse back to health. He’s a grown man. He seems to be doing just fine leading his people. He might just have a different way of doing it than we do here.”

“So that’s a ‘no’ from you on extracting ice memories from him?”

“They’ll be here for several months. I’m sure you can get him to talk to you at some point. Taking his memories seems a bit rushed. And unethical. And possibly crazy.”

Anna pulled her arm away from Elsa’s. She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her tongue out at her sister. “I’m not crazy. I’m curious. Aren’t you?”

Elsa looked to where Honeymaren was showing a group of children how she could toss a crowberry in the air and catch it in her mouth. Anna followed her gaze.

“Oh fine. Go join her and leave me to my skulking.”

Elsa laughed. “Good luck.”

As Anna watched Elsa sidle up to Honeymaren and hold her hand, her mind wandered to her earlier attempts to talk to Kristoff. He had given two word answers to all of her questions about the Black Mountain (“It’s beautiful.”) and their reindeer (“They’re strong.”) and their strangely shaped saws (“Harvesting ice.”). Even telling him about her sister’s ability to make ice from nothingness just elicited a raised eyebrow in reply, no marveling wonder or eagerness to see it happen. And when she had offered him some dried elk, he had refused, saying that his people had brought their own supplies and wouldn’t start their time together by taking from the food stores of the Northuldra.

Perhaps that was why he was sitting alone now. The Northuldra had been preparing food and drink for the welcome celebration for weeks, but Kristoff was not partaking at all. He sat on a log by the fire. He had his pack resting next to him and there was a reindeer nearby with its head tucked into its side, looking sleepy. There, Anna thought. If a reindeer thought he was kind, he must be. Reindeer were very good judges of character. Anna cleared her throat and walked over to him.

“Would you like to lead the next round of singing? I’ve noticed Black Mountain voices haven’t been joining in with ours. But if you started a song your people knew…we could join in.” Anna smiled at him and he looked up. The reindeer did too and nudged something out of Kristoff’s pack, pushing it forward. Anna saw what it was, clasped her hands together and sat down next to him, thinking that his reindeer seemed friendlier than he did.

“A lute! Do you play? Oh you should play for us! That will be just the thing to make this party seem even more like a party.”

Kristoff picked up the lute and shoved it back into his pack, giving the reindeer a reproachful look. “No , I don’t think I’ll play tonight.” He scratched his reindeer under its muzzle and Anna thought it seemed like an apology for his earlier glare. What a strange man, to be so polite to reindeer and so rude to humans.

“He seems like a special reindeer. Does he always sit next to you during celebrations?”

Kristoff didn’t answer, but she continued talking, looking at the reindeer and extending her hand for him to sniff. “My parents used to let me sleep with the baby reindeer, especially the calves who needed extra care after a birthing where the mother was lost. They would joke about the smell, but I always liked it. Kind of a homey smell, like smoke and sun and dirt and cold. But they never let us keep any as a pet, really. Too hard when we use them for meat and furs. I was six when I realized that herding reindeer meant occasionally slaughtering reindeer and I cried so hard about it that my mother took me on a gathering trip to let me cry without bothering everyone else. Just the two of us. She showed me where she and my father had their first house, or cave, really, and where the best cloudberries are, and how we depend on plants and animals to make us strong, and that we should be grateful for the gift they give us of their strength. It was thrilling to be with only her and not share her with my sister. Sleeping out in the open under the stars with someone you love – I don’t think there’s anything better.” She fell silent, beginning to stroke Sven’s velvety ears, and remembering those baby reindeer she had cuddled through spring nights that had a sharp edge of cold to them despite the hint of summer in the daytime.

“Sven is more of a friend than a pet.”

Anna almost continued talking without realizing he had spoken. She had started to feel like she was telling a fussy toddler a bedtime story, not trying to have a conversation. She tilted her head and looked at Kristoff. “Sven?”

“Sven. Yes. My reindeer. This reindeer.”

Anna put her hands on Sven’s ears, stroking the soft skin. “Sven. I’m very pleased to meet you. Thank you for coming all this way, and I hope you enjoy your time here with the Northuldra.”

Sven grunted and tucked his head back into his side, once more looking like he was ready to sleep.

“Thank you.” Kristoff was looking at her and she was so surprised by his words she couldn’t think of anything to say in return. He didn’t seem to know what to do with the silence either and reached a hand to scratch at his beard, repeating himself. “Thank you.”

Anna thought about asking what he was thanking her for – talking to his reindeer? Not thinking it weird that he named his reindeer and called it his friend? The celebration? The welcome into the Forest? Not minding that he’d refused all hospitality and wouldn’t sing? For sitting next to him? But she stilled those questions, saving them to consider with Elsa later.

Instead, she smiled and said “You’re welcome,” rose, and left him at the fire, still wondering why he was so alone even surrounded by his people and why he was so sad even surrounded by a celebration. 

***

“So, Anna. Is she…” Kristoff scratched the back of his neck as he crouched down next to Ryder, both of them feeling the lichen to see if it was wet enough for the reindeer to graze there later.

Anna talking to him over the past few days always happened suddenly, went in a direction that surprised him, and left him feeling slightly out of breath and confused when it was over. Sometimes that was because of the fantastical things she told him, like her sister being able to make ice and the very mountains moving at their request. Sometimes it was because of the way she looked at him, with a curiosity and compassion that was as disorienting as the Northuldra Wind Spirit. He lost his bearings whenever he looked at her. 

Also, she was beautiful. Her hair and eyes were bright. Her animated demeanour seemed to make her whole body vibrate, all the time. She was captivating. His eyes hurt from making himself stare at the fire instead of at her during those first few days.

“Is she always so…”

“Friendly? Funny? Good with reindeer and telling stories? Yeah. She’s the best.” Ryder stood and wiped his hands on his sleeves. “Let’s go get the herd.”

***

Yelana had noticed Anna’s interest in the leader of the Black Mountain, and had given her a word of warning about it. “Most men are too emotional and he certainly seems to be ruled by his, sour as he comes across. There is enough to keep us busy these next few months as we mix the herds; I need you tending to the reindeer and not the men.”

Anna gave a dismissive wave, continuing with her work with the mortar and pestle. “Oh I’m not interested in him anymore. He’s too irritable.”

***

The next few weeks were a flurry of movement. Teams of Northuldra and Black Mountain took the reindeer to different lichen meadows and streams every day. 

Preparing meals for so many, while not a strain on their resources, did create more work than normal. When her work with her mother was done, Anna was often sent to gather or harvest or catch something to add to the night’s meal. 

Ryder and Honeymaren stayed with the reindeer. Elsa circled the herd on Nokk, able to quickly spot and rescue those that were losing in the mating dances and clashes. As the new animals were introduced to each other, there were some injuries that needed tending – both on people and on the reindeer. 

Anna helped her mother as she prepared salves and wrapped bandages and directed others in gathering the boska necessary to supplement the diet of reindeer who were expending lots of extra energy during this season.

“Should helping reindeer find mates be this – difficult? And bloody? A lot of them seem to be getting injured.”

Iduna laughed. “Ask your father about that. I think he would tell you that finding a mate is sometimes very dangerous.”

Anna smiled as she smoothed balm on a cut near a tired looking reindeer’s antler. Most of the reindeer were too skittish to be touched by anyone right now, but they had always loved Anna. Her father had said it was because the reindeer could tell Anna loved them. 

Anna hummed and sang as she worked, making up silly stories about reindeer who flew all over the world, looking for carrots. At the end of one such tale, she wiped her hands on her work apron and saw Kristoff nearby.

“Nice story. Did you make it up?”

“Not really. Parts of it are from a poem our father read to us as children.” She gave the reindeer a final pat and stood up. She was surprised that he had come to talk to her, but tried to keep her amazement out of her voice. It seemed so out of character for him. He had never initiated a conversation before.

“Ryder told me you were the one to ask. Sven has been acting strange and I can’t figure it out. Could you come?”

Anna looked to her mother who nodded her assent. “We’re fine here for now. No new injuries other than the one you just tended.” They hugged and Anna reached for her bag, checking to be sure it had some of the medical supplies she was likely to need.

As they drew close to the Black Mountain encampment, Anna could hear distressed grunting noises.

“Is that Sven?”

“It is. He hasn’t stopped making that sound. It’s like he’s scared of something, but I can’t figure out what. I tied him up over here so he wouldn’t run off. He’s not as hardy as the other reindeer, he depends on me to help him out.”

Anna reached for the length of rope and began to unwind it from the tree. “Let’s get him to show us what’s bothering him.”

Kristoff reached for the rope, but she moved it out of his grasp. He frowned at her, speaking in low tones that wouldn’t startle Sven. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She had already unwrapped the rope and as soon as he was no longer tied to the tree, Sven bolted. Kristoff and Anna looked at each other and then ran after him.

“I told you not to do that! He’ll hurt himself for sure now!”

She shouted as they sprinted through the undergrowth. “Well good thing you have me then, I’ll know how to fix him up!” Kristoff stayed silent as they ran. Thankfully, Sven’s path of broken branches and trampled leaves were easy to follow.

They both spotted Sven at the same time. He was at the edge of a stream, looking towards a curve in its path. Sven grunted, stretched his neck towards the unseen spot, and then shuddered.

Kristoff reached him first and put his arms around the reindeer’s middle, murmuring calming words into his ear. Anna walked past them both, ignoring Kristoff’s glare which was sharper than any of his ice saws, to reach the bend in the stream. As she looked toward the place that seemed to be equally terrifying and intriguing to Sven, Kristoff watched as she visibly relaxed, leaned back with a breathy laugh and said “Oh! It’s just you!”

Walking out from the hidden spot, a very round, very white, and very alive snowman came into view. Sven was now shuddering and grunting even louder and Kristoff’s first instinct was to kick at the snowman, which he did, right in the head. The head flew into the water, and Anna ran for it, scooping it up and walking back towards Olaf.

“Oh no! Olaf! Are you alright?” Anna gently put the head back on the snowman’s body and adjusted his carrot nose, giving it a light tap.

Kristoff recoiled and, in doing so, lost his grip on Sven, who ran off in a new direction.

Kristoff drew back again and then began to run after Sven as the snowman said “I’m fine! But goodness. It sure is hard to make new friends. I’ve been following that one for a while and he just won’t say hello to me to matter what I do.”

Anna looked to where Kristoff was disappearing into the woods after Sven and gave Olaf a quick kiss on the head. She turned and ran, and shouted over her shoulder. “I’m so sorry Olaf, but I better go help. Let my parents know, please?”

Olaf adjusted his head as he watched Anna run into the trees, the leaves and and branches parting to show her the way.

***

Anna found Kristoff easily enough, but not Sven.

From the welcome Kristoff gave her, it seemed he would have preferred it if she hadn’t come after them.

“Just leave. I don’t need your help. Your help is what created this problem to begin with.” He was looking at the ground, crouching low and searching for footprints and other signs of Sven.

She rolled her eyes and crouched down next to him. “I know these woods better than you. You’ll probably throw a grappling hook into an Earth Giant’s eye or insult Bruni with your flint so your fire never lights. You need me.”

He rocked back on his heels and looked at her, mystified. “I have no idea what any of that means.” 

“Exactly. And I bet you don’t know that the Wind Spirit helped me find you just now, opening up paths that I wouldn’t have noticed except for her guidance.”

“I still have no idea what you’re talking about.” He stood and kept searching for any sign of Sven’s path, turning over leaves and looking at trees for scratch marks.

Anna cupped her hands around her mouth and sang a series of notes. “Wind Spirit? Can you show us?”

Kristoff felt a gust of wind ruffle his hair and he looked up to see a new path open in the forest. A bit of Sven’s harness lay on the ground. Kristoff ran to it and picked it up. “It’s his!”

“I know. So trust me that I know these woods and if you want to find Sven, you need me.”

Kristoff looked at her, sighed, and nodded. They began walking on the path that the Wind Spirit cleared for them. Anna watched as his hands clenched the harness.

***

It was dark and they still hadn’t found Sven. Anna spoke to Bruni and got a fire going. At Kristoff’s questioning look, she explained that the light might attract Sven.

“I’m sure he’s fine. I’ve asked Bruni and the Wind Spirit to look out for him and they’ll let the Earth Giants and Nokk know as well. We’ll find him. But for now, rest. It’s too far and too dark to go home tonight.”

Kristoff had been leaning on a tree, tired from the chase through the woods and worried about his friend. He walked closer to the fire and sat down with a sigh, rubbing his hands over his eyes. 

“Olaf can sometimes be over eager to make new friends.” She looked at Kristoff and felt a heat rise in her face. “Olaf and I can both be over eager to make friends. I’m sorry that Sven was frightened. And that he ran when I untied him. And I’m sorry that you’re stuck with me when you clearly don’t want to be.“

Kristoff looked at her as she opened her bag and searched through its contents. “I’m not sorry.”

Anna looked up from her bag and gave a small laugh. “I know. You seem very happy to be rude and angry. Not that I don’t understand your worry or anger, but try to remember that I am helping you.”

Kristoff rubbed his hands over his eyes again and shook his head. “No, no, I mean I’m not sorry you’re here, helping me. I’d be lost in these woods without you. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” He opened the small bag that had been strapped to his back and pulled out some pieces of thinbread, offering her some. Anna reached for it, staying quiet. After her continuous monologues during their search and his silence, he finally seemed willing to talk.

“So much of this year has been like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

He paused, and Anna hazarded a small “Oh?” hoping he would say more. After a bite of the thinbread and a wipe of his mouth on his sleeve, he continued.

“I wanted to expand our trading routes. We get great ice near the Back Mountain and I had the idea that we could bring it further south to towns and villages we've never traded with. We're so far north - we've traded reindeer with Northuldra before and some with the tribe that used to be near the North Mountain, but never Arendelle. Never on the coast.” He reached into his bag again and pulled out a skin of water, offering it to her. She took a sip and then handed it back.

“I’ve been there, it was such a bustling port with so much to see. It was my father’s home once. Did you like it?”

He shook his head, and took another bite, chewing a bit before he continued. “Well no, not exactly. Too many people. But I did show my father that ice was as big of a business as reindeer. Reindeer herding has good years and bad, but the ice is more dependable. We sold what we had and brought back a lot in trade.”

Anna stayed silent, hoping he would say more to fill the empty space around the fire, the absence of Sven and both of their tribes making the forest seem larger and quieter than she was used to. She also wondered at his reference to his father – the father that would be the leader of the Black Mountain if he was still alive. Her heart thudded as she realized what that meant.

“We brought back a lot, including a sickness we'd never seen before. Our healer died while treating people. Almost every family lost someone. My parents both died and suddenly I was the leader. The leader who had caused the problem in the first place. And now we’re at the mercy of others. And asking for help all the time, and…” He trailed off, and shook his head again.

Anna covered his hand with hers and squeezed. “Kristoff, a sickness like that, it's unpredictable. Maybe you would have spared your people from it that year without trading. But coming to trade with us could have been as big of a risk. Someone could have brought it to the Black Mountain without you ever leaving. It's devastating, but that doesn't make it your fault.” He looked at their joined hands, but not at her. She could see the steady rise and fall of his shoulders as he breathed, but she couldn’t see his eyes.

“And asking for help isn’t a weakness. It’s a strength. My father says that all the time.” He still wouldn’t look up at her, but the silence felt comfortable. The sounds of the fire crackled and Anna thought about how so many people, like her Uncle Lemek, seemed angry when really they were just sad. And Kristoff had a lot to be sad about. She wished there was a way she could comfort him and distract him from his worries before she realized she had just the thing. She rummaged through her bag again and pulled out a book.

Kristoff looked up to the sound of pages being turned. “A book? You rushed after me and Sven, but took the time to pack a book?” He sounded amused, and Anna was glad her distraction was already working.

“I always have a book. This is the one I keep in my medical bag in case I get bored during a long vigil. My father usually has several on him at all times. It’s like always having a friend nearby.”

“A book.” He laughed a little, surprising her with the sound. “Well, I supposed a book is no stranger than a reindeer for a friend.”

Anna smiled, accepting this kindness. “Yes! And don’t you like stories? Here I’ll read one, let me know if you like it.”

She began the story, using all of her best voices and right as she got to the ending, they heard the low grunting of Sven. 

If reindeer could look abashed, this one did, bending his antlers low and pawing at the ground. 

Kristoff ran to him and hugged him around the middle. The sight of it made Anna smile. She walked slowly towards Sven, not wanting him to startle again, and checked his hooves and fur for signs of injury. Aside from a few scratches that she rubbed ointment on, she declared him to be in perfect health. 

“Thank you!” Kristoff sounded happier than she had ever heard him, the pinch of worry between his eyebrows was gone and she smiled in response to his happy grin. He grabbed her hand in both of his and she felt a rush of pride and a thrill at the touch of his hands, so broad and warm as they held hers. She looked into his eyes, then down at his hands, and pulled away abruptly.

“Your knuckles! They’re bleeding!”

Kristoff opened and closed his hands, suddenly empty. “Oh. I didn’t notice. It’s not bad, probably just from the scrub and underbrush.”

“Still, anything that breaks the skin can draw in poison if you don’t treat it soon enough. That’s why I checked Sven, you don’t want a small cut to become a big problem later.”

Anna pulled out the same jar of ointment and used a cloth to scoop out a small amount. She picked up one of his hands and began to smooth the salve over the bleeding knuckles, and then switched to the other.

“Isn’t that...for reindeer?” She couldn’t tell if he was really worried, or just complaining about the fuss, so she smiled reassurance in case he needed it. 

“It’s for anything that bleeds.” She finished her ministrations and lightly rubbed her thumb along his palm, and he gripped her hand once again.

“Thank you.” 

She laughed, turning away from him. “You know you seem very ungrateful most of the time, but you’ve said ‘thank you’ four times since we’ve met. I might need to start reconsidering my opinion of you.” She found herself surprisingly short of breath when she walked back to her pack, putting the jar and cloth away. The rapid beat of her heart didn’t still even as she sat down by the fire; if anything it was getting faster.

Now, looking at him from this vantage point, she could see that he was smiling, the slight curve of his lips higher on the right than the left. “Oh? What else do you think about me?” He and Sven came closer to the fire and settled down, Kristoff leaning onto one side of Sven, and Anna the other. She could hear Kristoff but not see him as he spoke. Not seeing him, she felt bolder.

“You obviously care a lot about your people, but you don’t seem to enjoy them at all. You’re too serious, too irritable, too sad. You should have fun sometimes. When you can celebrate and laugh and smile again, that’s when the hard year you’ve had will start to recede. When everyone will start to be joyful again. You might have to fake it for a bit first, but then you really will feel it. And your people will too.”

She could hear Kristoff breathing. It sounded steady, like he was considering her words instead of being angered by them. She began to pet Sven on the ears as she waited for his reply, enjoying the soft feel. Sven seemed to like it too, and gave a soft grunt of appreciation.

“So I should plan a celebration and then everyone will forget about the people we lost?”

She shook her head even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “No, of course not. But give them something joyful so they have new memories too.”

It was quiet again, and Anna was getting used to these pauses he took during conversation. The quiet he needed to hear before he could fill it with words.

“We didn’t do the ice games this year.”

“Ice games?” 

“Competitions to carve and cut as quickly as possible. Sometimes there’s even ice racing.” She could hear him adjust his position and Sven lifted his head and huffed a bit before settling back down.

“That sounds great! We should do that!” She sat up, looking over Sven at Kristoff, who now had his hat over his eyes, one hand on the hat, and one hand on his stomach. She was glad to see the ointment still shiny on his knuckles; he hadn’t wiped it off.

He spoke, eyes still covered and sounding slower and sleepier as he did, even though this idea was making Anna feel wide awake. “How? You don’t have a lake here. Definitely not a frozen one.”

“That’s true. But we do have my sister.”

“I-” he yawned. “I don’t know what that means.”

Anna watched as his breathing steadied and he slept. And though she thought about ice games, and what she would need Elsa to do, and what she would need Kristoff to agree to, her last thought before falling asleep was how it had felt when Kristoff had held her hand.

***

“Elsa, please, just drink something.” Honeymaren was extending a guksi, brimming with water, but Elsa waved it away.

“I’m fine. I’m almost done. Just a few more layers.” Elsa pushed both of her hands down and away from her body as the ice she was standing on slowly rose. 

Ryder cheered. “Why did we never think to do this? A whole field covered in ice - this is great!” He was sliding around on the top layer, hitting his boot against a pinecone towards Anna who was also trying to skate in her regular boots. She kicked it back towards him and did a clumsy spin.

Honeymaren sighed and shook her head. “We never do this because it’s completely impractical and it freezes up good grazing ground that the reindeer would otherwise use. And even if she’s telling me she’s fine, this woman needs to drink more water. For the Spirits’ sake, Elsa, you can’t shoot that much ice out of you and not need to drink something!”

Elsa, satisfied with her work, walked over to Honeymaren and took the guksi, looking at her with eyebrows raised as she drank. Honeymaren sighed again. “Thank you.”

“Oh Elsa!” Anna clapped her hands together. “It looks perfect! I think this is exactly what he was talking about; just wait until the Black Mountain folks see it!”

***

Anna had been right. Anna had been right, and Kristoff told her so, which made her feel proud and satisfied in a way that surprised her. 

The People of the Black Mountain unpacked their saws and picks and sang chanteys and cut for speed and sculpted for beauty and challenged the Northuldra to races along the length of the field, which often ended in piles of collapsed runners with no clear winner, all laughing and scrambling to try again. 

Anna stayed on the outskirts of the ice, ready to tend to any injury. She scanned the ice field, but often stopped to watch Kristoff, who was lifting massive blocks of ice with tongs and then throwing them into perfect piles several feet away. He grunted as he worked, and she could see the lines of sweat running down his face, the pleased nods and smiles he gave as others complimented his harvesting. 

After doing most of the harvesting in leathers and boots and furs, he stripped to the waist for the last round. Anna watched as the cords of muscle in his back tensed and constricted as he lifted ice out of the field and into the sled for storage. She swallowed, feeling tense as well, like her muscles were also pulled tight. 

As the day grew dark, Elsa magicked the ice away except for the winning ice sculptures and a few perfectly formed cubes that were taken to a storehouse for preserving food. The two tribes continued to laugh and talk and occasionally sing around the bonfire, now roaring and blazing into a dark sky.

“Thank you for that. Thank you for making that happen.” Kristoff walked up to Anna, pulling his loose shirt back over his head. She reached for his hands. 

“Just making sure you didn’t reopen old wounds.” She smoothed her fingers over his knuckles as he startled at her touch. “And you’re welcome. That’s two more ‘thank yous’ from you. I believe I’ve lost count now.” She smiled and dropped his hand, and for a second she thought he might reach for her hand to hold it, just hold it and look at the fire together. She wondered if she wanted that.

“We, uh, we leave in a few days’ time. And I thought….”

He stopped talking, and Anna watched as he took a breath and tried again. “We lost our best calver. Ryder said you’re good at it – small hands, patient heart. Would you consider coming with us? Back to the Black Mountain? Through the end of the birthing season?”

She should have thought about it more, perhaps. She could have talked to Yelana or her parents or Elsa. She could have asked more questions. Instead, she looked at him, smiled and answered the way she wanted to in that moment, with the fire pulling out sparks of yellow in his eyes and his breath still heavy from his earlier exertions. The dampened hair on his head and the way his shirt opened at the throat to show his chest and the way her hands still mourned the loss of his touch. She had to admit that was part of why she answered the way she did.

“I’d love to.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna and Ryder go to the Black Mountain

“Where exactly will you stay?” Her father seemed to be the most doubtful about the wisdom of this trip, though Elsa had already arched an eyebrow that morning and asked “You’re going to Black Mountain for the reindeer? Really? The reindeer?”

“They have a fully-supplied medical cabin with no one to see to it, so that’s where I’ll be. And I already asked Ryder to go and help me, so I won’t be completely alone! And you trust him - he’s practically related to us.”

“They invited Ryder too?” Iduna had already started lists of what Anna would need to bring, what she wasn’t sure could be found in the woods of the Black Mountain, or what would be too difficult to gather in the winter months. 

“No, Kristoff invited me. I invited Ryder.”

Agnarr gaped. “This is a diplomatic and humanitarian mission! You can’t just invite whoever you want!”

Iduna put a hand on Agnarr’s shoulder. “Agnarr, this is hardly as strict of a plan as all that. Tribes have been lending each other people and supplies and expertise and knowledge in every way for hundreds of years. It’s how we survive. “ She turned to look at Anna. “But Anna, I know how you get. You can’t dismiss him and his entire tribe if you don’t like how he chews his food one night. You’ve agreed to go and even if you tire of him, you will stay until calving in the spring.”

“This is not about him!”

Agnarr looked relieved, but Iduna smiled and said “We’ll see.”

***

“Anna, you go with the blessing of our people and the spirits. May you bring these blessings to the Black Mountain as well.” Yelana lowered her hands from her formal declaration and drew close to Anna, her voice directly in her ear. “Be patient. Learn. And remember you are a guest. Be polite.”

“Well, I already told Kristoff he’s too serious and irritable and sad. And that was before he asked me to come. So I think everything will be alright.”

Yelana shook her head and stepped backwards. “Please, just try to keep our relationship with Black Mountain a good one. 

***

Elsa helped her pack some books and clothes into a pack that would be loaded along with the many parcels and packets of medicines that Iduna had prepared. 

“Do you still think this is a good idea?” Elsa handed her another pile of books as she asked the question. Anna began the impossible task of choosing some and leaving others.

“Of course!” Anna looked at Elsa and saw the disbelief on her face. “You belong here. You and the spirits, you all fit together. I fit here mostly, but I often feel restless. I think it’s time to go explore a bit. And besides, it’s just through the rest of fall, all winter, and most of spring. That’s hardly any time at all!”

Elsa laughed. “It’s enough time for reindeer to conceive and calve and be ready to do so again. I wonder what else might happen.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “I can’t imagine what you mean.”

***

Kristoff watched as Ryder and Anna joined the procession of Black Mountain as they left the Northuldra lands. Many came up to give them final embraces or parting words, and Kristoff saw their sisters waving from the ridge. He saw Anna smile and his chest tightened, a joyful sensation that also made him wonder at his boldness in asking her. It was a good thing for his people. They needed medical help and she was good at it. But that wasn’t why his palms began to sweat at the sight of her, and why he was eager to seek out her company on the journey home.

***

Ryder nudged Anna. “Look, you can see it now, just there.”

Anna’s eyes shifted to where Ryder was pointing. She saw the rise of a dark mountain, stark against the white clouds. It looked like it could be a column of smoke. Anna wondered if it was as hostile to life as it looked.

Up close, its craggy edges were sharper than it had been at a distance. It was beautiful, but in a way that gave Anna a tingling feeling on her spine. It was entirely unknown. It didn’t seem friendly like her mountain. This one was dark, with exposed roots and crumbling boulders and loose dirt giving her the sense that the mountain was trying to escape itself. 

“Ryder, doesn’t it just seem...dangerous to you? This mountain?”

Ryder clapped her on the back. “You’re just homesick for our Earth Giants and their greenery. It’s the spruce-firs that make The Black Mountain look like that. Kristoff told me. Up close I bet we’ll see life.” 

She was eager to get to know it. What if it was a friendly mountain, but no one ever asked it to be? She made Ryder promise that they would go explore the first chance they had.

That’s why, after a few days of welcomes and learning everyone’s names, setting up the medical supplies in the cabin, and ensuring the Northuldra reindeer were following the rest of the herd, Kristoff found Anna and Ryder climbing an outcropping of rocks at the base of the mountain about ten feet above a meadow. And while the cliff wasn’t particularly high, the grasses of the meadow were unlikely to provide much of a cushion for their fall. It looked to Kristoff like they were both about to cause themselves serious injury. 

These were the people he had brought back from Northuldra, the people he had promised his tribe would help bring about a year of renewal and health and security after a year of loss. Two people about to jump off a cliff. 

“What are you two doing?” he ran forward, stumbling over roots in his haste. 

Anna looked around. “We’re introducing ourselves to your mountain. The Earth Giants enjoy making paths and slopes for us, so we thought we’d give your mountain a chance to do the same.”

“That’s not how it works here! Please, turn around and come down this way.” Kristoff looked at Ryder, but Ryder was no help. He waved to Kristoff and jumped, a gleeful shout turning to a cry of pain as he collided with the ground. Anna and Kristoff scrambled down to where Ryder had collapsed on the ground and crouched over him.

“You can’t just jump off a cliff here! That was a ten foot drop!”

Anna felt Ryder’s legs and ankles. “You seem whole. Just some nasty bruises.” She stood and looked back up at the mountain. “I suppose it doesn’t want to talk to us like the Earth Giants do.”

Kristoff shook his head. “That’s what I told you! I trusted you in your forest. Trust me here. That kind of magic doesn’t happen!”

Anna nodded and he nodded back, relieved. “I’m sorry. I am trying to learn how things work here. I’ll keep learning and asking.” Her mind turned to the promises she had made Yelana about representing the tribe well. She stood and her back scraped against the rocky overhang. Anna stroked the rock face and whispered. "I'll be back," then looked at Kristoff, a smile on her lips. “I’m kidding! Of course I won’t. At least not to jump. Maybe just to talk. Anyway, let’s get him back to my cabin.”

She offered Ryder her hand and she and Kristoff both lifted him up. They supported him on either side, and when their hands brushed along Ryder’s back, Anna felt his fingers grip hers tightly. Together, they hobbled back to the medical cabin, where Anna situated Ryder in one of the cots.

***

Although he had no obvious fractures or serious injuries, Ryder was bruised and sore enough that he didn’t work with the roaming reindeer for the first few weeks he was there. Instead, he stayed in the medical cabin and mixed and pounded and dried and measured whatever Anna told him to. Eventually, she ran out of tasks for him and sent him to help with skinning and tanning. 

Anna was always falling those first few weeks. On a walk with Kristoff to survey the herd she tripped on the uneven terrain. Kristoff righted her by grabbing her elbow and then kept an arm around her waist as they continued walking. Anna flushed at the contact, enjoying the feel of his large hand on her waist, which occasionally strayed to her back or her elbow to guide her as they continued their loop around the grazing grounds. 

She blamed her clumsiness on the absence of the North Wind. “She always righted me whenever I stumbled! I was this hopeless in Arendelle too. I fell into the fjord the first day just trying to look into the water.”

Kristoff laughed. “Did you know how to swim?”

Anna nodded and then laughed as well, remembering. “I know how to swim, but I was wearing Arendellian clothing - dresses with layers and layers of fabric underneath - and I couldn’t swim in all that. So I had to pull down the bottom petticoats and emerged from the waters onto the pier without boots or stockings or crinolines or pantalettes. People were scandalized.”

Kristoff continued laughing and Anna noticed as his neck and face began to flush red. He ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s probably something everyone still remembers to this day.”

“I’m just glad it was a warm day. If it was a day like today, I would have frozen solid before I could climb out of the water.” Anna shivered and Kristoff moved his arm to go around her shoulders.

“Are you warm enough? What do you need?”

“I’ll be fine. The first chill of autumn always feels worse than actual winter, don’t you think?” She reached her hand up to grasp his hand that was on her shoulder, wanting him to know that his touch was welcome, and turned her head to look at him. His face was a little red still, no doubt she’d embarrassed him with her talk of stripping in the fjord. “Do you ever swim here? On purpose I mean?”

“Sometimes. In summer. The lake where we harvest the ice is too cold but there are other, smaller ponds.” He smiled, and Anna saw him duck his head and look at her under his lashes, so long that she had the urge to reach out and run her fingers over them to see if they felt as silky as she guessed. “But we also have hot springs. Have you ever been in one?”

Anna frowned. “No, but I remember stories my mother would tell about them. Will you tell me about yours?”

Kristoff grinned. “Let me show you.”

***

Kristoff promised he would take her to the hot springs soon, but between training the apprentice ice harvesters and meeting with the elders - most of them as young as him because of the outbreak - it was another week before he was able to do so. Anna had just finished treating a minor burn on a young woman named Seara when she heard a knock on the door.

“Kristoff! Come in!” Anna opened the door and Kristoff ducked to enter. The ceilings were tall but the doorframe wasn’t, and he had to contort himself a bit to fit inside. It gave Anna a slight thrill to see.

“Oh! Seara! Hello. I was just…”Kristoff’s voice trailed off and Seara smiled at him.

“Anna was helping me; I got a lick by the fire tonight making our meal.” She lifted her bandaged hand to show him. “I’m glad you brought her with you. What a treasure she is! ”

Anna and Kristoff both blushed at that, Anna busying herself with putting away her salves and cloths so that she didn’t have to meet Kristoff’s eyes. She knew he was becoming important to her, and wondered if she was becoming important to him. Maybe even treasured. For reasons other than treating injuries on his people and tending to the health of the reindeer.

Seara said her goodbyes and left, and Anna and Kristoff were left alone in the cabin. 

Anna spoke as she closed cabinets and folded cloth. “I’m happy to see you. It must have been a busy week for you; I usually see you at the evening meal but I haven’t this week.”

“I’ve been with the ice harvesting crew; it’s not time to harvest and deliver now but I’m training the new ones in how to cut and load it up. When spring and summer come; they’ll know what to do.”

She had finished cleaning up and stood awkwardly, unsure if she should offer him some food. He had stayed by the door, hat and mittens on, his pack still strapped to his back. “I’m glad you haven’t given up on trading and harvesting.”

He smiled. “No, and I haven’t given up on taking you to the hot springs either. Can you go now? I know the way in the dark, and I have a torch ready.”

“Sure!” Anna reached for her heavy cloak and her own hat and mittens, the unfurling banner of excitement in her chest spurring her to be fast about those tasks.

As they left the cabin, Kristoff lit torches for both of them from the fire at the center of the row of kotas and cabins, and led her by the hand towards a path Anna had not yet explored. The path was long but well worn and easy even in the dark. After about a half hour of walking, Anna grimaced at a sudden strong, foul smell.

“What’s that?”

“That means we’re close.” 

“My father told me about hot springs that smell, but I never imagined it would be so strong!” Anna laughed. “My eyes are watering!”

From the light of the torch Anna saw a pool of water shrouded in a layer of steam. Kristoff took her torch and his and stuck them in ground near the edge of the water. 

“You’ll get used to the smell. If you got used to the smell of reindeer, you can get used to this.”

“I suppose that’s why you didn’t put the settlement right here though. It would take a lot of getting used to.” She pulled off a mitten and reached down to touch the water. “It feels wonderful! Are you ready to get in? Do we...just . . .take our clothes off?” She blushed to say it, and wondered how much the dark would hide them from each other.

Kristoff had already taken off his hat and mittens but paused, and though she couldn’t see the redness in his cheeks in the dark she suspected it was there from his stammered explanation. “Yes. Well, not if you don’t want to, though I suppose I should have told you to bring another set of clothes if you wanted to get in with your clothes on; it’s too cold to walk back wet. I did bring blankets to dry off with. But we can come another time, we don’t have to do it tonight.” 

She looked at him and began taking off her boots. “No, I don't mind. It’s like the saunas in Arendelle, you have to get naked first.” Her fingers went to the clasp on her cloak, and she took that off as well, putting it on top of her discarded boots. “Which hmmm, is maybe why they’re so popular. I didn't like them though, I hated being shut up behind a closed door, even if it is wonderfully warm and steamy inside.”

Her hands went to the silver buttons on her belt and he turned around, speaking loudly over his shoulder. “I’ll, uh, I’ll get in first. And close my eyes. And then you can get in.” 

She turned around as well, smiling, and started unbuttoning her cloak. For a man who invited her to an activity that required nakedness, he seemed remarkably nervous about it. She found it endearing. Perhaps he was as excited as she was to be having this adventure together.

She continued undressing and then worked to tie her hair up on top of her head. When she heard the splash of water that meant he had entered the pool, she took off the last of her warm layers and hurried into the water. She sighed upon sinking into the water.

“I don’t care what it smells like, this is amazing! I haven’t been this warm since July!”

Kristoff laughed to see her so happy. “Can you touch the bottom alright? It’s not too deep?” 

“No, it’s perfect.” She looked at him in the dim light of the torches and the brilliant but distant light of the moon and saw his broad shoulders and grinning mouth. She drew closer to him and placed her hands on his bare shoulders. “Thank you for showing me this, for taking me here.” 

She was close enough to see him swallow and his chest rise and fall as he took some shallow breaths. She was very aware of how naked she was and how naked he was, and between the smell of sulphur and the heat of the water and the pressing darkness and the disorienting closeness of his breath and body she felt light-headed. It felt like a dream; this place felt even more enchanted than her forest. But instead of wind and water and fire and earth being alive, it was every part of her that seemed to be conscious. Every pore in her skin, the hairs on her arms that were wet and warm, the pads of her feet touching the soft bottom of the spring, it all felt like it was full to bursting. She looked into Kristoff's eyes to see if he felt it too, and she leaned in closer, her hand moving to his face to stroke his beard.

“Kristoff -” 

An owl swooped out of the tree, its wings inches from their faces. She jumped back, splashing into the water, her hand going to her heart. He swatted at the air and said “It’s just an owl! Looking for his breakfast. It’s alright.”

He reached above the water and offered her his hand. She took it and whatever spell had fallen over her before seemed gone. Again she was Anna, he was Kristoff, and they were enjoying something new together. Companions and friends. And if she wanted something more from him, she wasn’t sure how to ask or tell him and he didn’t seem to be either.

So instead she told him more about the traditions she was learning as she acclimated to Black Mountain. “The way you set snares in the antlers to catch the wild reindeer! I hope Ryder’s learning how so we can do it back at home.” 

And he told her how the apprentice ice harvesters were learning everything very quickly, even the work songs. “I didn’t think they’d want to sing - ever since the illness we haven’t had much music - but they asked and I taught them and I think it helped them work steadily. And maybe even enjoy it.”

When Anna drew a hand out of the water to show Kristoff how wrinkled it had become, he said that meant it was time to get out. “Too long a soak makes it dangerous instead of healthy. Time to get out when you start water aging.”

He got out first and wrapped himself in a towel, then stood at the edge of the pool with his back turned to offer her one. They dressed in silence and walked back with hands held, and Anna wondered if holding hands was all he ever wanted to do with her. 

***

Kristoff came over the next day carrying a large bundle. 

“What’s this?” Anna wiped her hands on her apron and took the offered pile of blankets and furs. 

“When I was here last night I noticed you didn’t have much for warmth. It’s cold now but it will be even colder soon and I don’t want you to suffer the chill. Especially being so slight as you are.”

She hung the furs on the one chair and then spread the blankets on the bed. “They’re beautiful. Do you know who did this weaving?” Her hands traced the pattern of interlocking antlers on the border of the blanket. It had taken quite a lot of skill to do that. 

“My mother made it. It’s our family symbol.” He hand froze and she looked up at him.

“Are you sure you want to part with it? I’m sure what she made must be very precious to you.”

“It is precious to me. But I want you to have it.” He broke their eye contact and looked down, shuffling his feet a bit and taking off his hat. “I think she would have liked you. She always said patience and kindness were the most important ways to lead. And I see that in you.”

Anna felt her cheeks grow warm at the praise and continued stroking the fabric. “I’ll remember those words and I’ll think of her and thank her when I use it. Thank you.” There was a long moment when she thought he might say more and when she thought she might hug him in thanks, but she felt frozen on the spot, humbled by the gift and his words. 

He cleared his throat. “Do you need any help? I don’t go to the ice lake today so I will be nearby. Is there anything you need?”

Anna nodded “Yes! My mother gave me some seeds for an herb garden. I know it’s too cold to plant now, but could you help me stake it out? I wanted a place near the cabin, but I didn’t know what land to use or what’s already claimed or being used by someone else.”

Kristoff put his hat back on. “Easily done. Let’s do it now.”

***

After they walked around a plot of land by the cabin, Kristoff stripped a few low lying branches from a nearby tree and began to cut at them with his knife. He sharpened the ends into points and gave them to Anna who drove them into the ground. She paused in her work to wave to Seara, working nearby on gutting some fish. 

He wondered if Anna would be here in the spring after the calving to plant, or if this was something she was readying for the next person to occupy the medical cabin. His heart felt tight at the thought of her gone. 

He had been so relieved when she agreed to come to the Black Mountain and since then had only enjoyed her company more and more. He thought she liked being with him, but it also seemed that she liked being with everyone. She was kind and friendly and funny and it made it very hard to know if she liked him in particular. He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable by having to ward off advances from him. He had offered her a job and he was in charge of her safety and comfort while she remained with the Black Mountain. He thought of his mother's words for the second time that day, that patience and kindness were how a good leader treated his people. He could be patient. 

Anna accepted another wooden stake from him. “You’re almost as strong as an Earth Giant. ”

Kristoff smiled. “Almost?”

“Yes. And definitely easier to convince to help me. The Earth Giants require more compliments first.”

He laughed. “I think I should be offended that my help is only slightly better than that of a giant made of stone.

“No, be flattered. They’re basically sentient mountains. Very strong. And you’re definitely better company.” She smiled at him and his knife almost slipped in his hand. He took a breath and reminded himself. Patience. He wanted to see her smile every morning when he first awoke, but he could be patient. 

***

Night fell early in the winter months, and sometimes Seara and the other young people would light a fire, brave the cold, and spend time together before sleeping. Anna and Ryder often joined in unless Anna’s medical expertise was needed elsewhere or Ryder was still chasing down an errant reindeer. Anna knew that even if she hadn’t seen Kristoff during the day, he was likely to meet her here at the fire, and he was likely to put his arm around her and tell her about something silly that Sven did or something entertaining about the formation of ice on the lake or something frustrating about meeting with the elders or something worrisome about disease or food stores or harsh weather. There was no end to what he carried for his people in concern and care and Anna tried to ease the burden by listening. She loved hearing him talk about his people and admired how much he cared about their well-being and how much thought he put into planning for their future.

Tonight, Anna watched as Kristoff walked up, sipping something that looked hot out of his guksi.

“Mmm, what’s that? It smells good.”

“Mulled wine. From your forest, actually. Or maybe Arendelle. Anyway, we brought it back after visiting the Northuldra.” He offered her the guksi and she accepted. She sipped and then sighed, wiping her mittened hand across her mouth and returning the mug to Kristoff.

“I think it must be from Arendelle. Very warming.”

As he put his arm around her, Anna couldn’t disguise a shiver of pleasure than went through her body. She stilled, but he noticed.

“Are you too cold?” His concern was evident in the downward tilt of his chin, his furrowed brow.

“Oh, I’m fine. The furs you gave me help a lot. And Ryder keeps the fire going at night and it’s nice having his body heat in the cabin; keeps things warmer.”

Kristoff pulled his arm off of her shoulders and straightened his hat clumsily.

“Has Ryder injured himself again?”

“Oh, he’s fine. I just like having him around. Things aren’t so lonely with him there.” Anna shivered again and rubbed her hands together, the wool of the mittens rough against her nose as she rubbed warmth into it. How could her hands and nose remain cold while her chest and middle felt flush with heat? It must be the wine. 

“Have you been lonely here?” He fiddled with his hat and Anna wondered why he wouldn’t put his arm around her again. It seemed she was always wanting to touch him more than he wanted to touch her.

“A little. It’s like home but not. I miss my family and the spirits.” She grabbed his hand, wishing she could feel the warmth and calluses of his hands through their mittens, something that had become familiar on their walks and work together before the cold had settled on the land. “I’m not lonely when I’m with you. You’re a kind and calm leader and I like learning about the customs here.”

“I thought...well I didn’t think Ryder slept in your cabin. I didn’t know he did that.” He shuffled his feet a bit and Anna realized what he meant. Was this why he kept stopping short of kissing her? Of claiming her as his? They acted like friends but she had begun to long for more with each interaction.

“Oh! No! Ryder is just my friend. We just sleep. I have the bed, he has one of the cots.”

“You...just sleep in the same cabin. But not together? You’re not together?” Anna nodded, her heart racing, hopeful that Ryder would go along with this sudden plan of hers.

“Of course! Come sleep in my cabin tonight. Now. Just you and me. You’ll see. We will not be together like ‘that’ all night long.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As calving season draws closer, Anna and Kristoff both wonder about the future.

Anna was right. Anna was right, but she didn’t want to be. They didn’t touch each other all night long and she was also ridiculously uncomfortable all night long. 

She read to him from her book and he told her a story of the constellation that was best seen from the top of the Black Mountain in spring; antlers of a mighty stag who could bless or curse when called upon for help. They said goodnight formally and each went to their own bed, turning their backs as they took off their clothes. The rustle of falling clothes was deafening and it brought a thrill all the way up Anna’s body, from her toes to each individual hair on her head.

She laid on her cot and he laid on the one usually occupied by Ryder and she felt she had never been more awake. He looked so large and out of place on it, his feet hanging off of the end and his shoulders wider than the frame of it. He had taken his shirt off and she watched as the shadows made by the flickering candle danced and moved along his chest and arms. The pattern of it looked as frenzied as she felt. She had a wild thought that she wanted to trace the path of the shadows, to feel the skin beneath and see if the heat she felt was there as well. 

She couldn’t sleep. Longings she never felt for Ryder had her mind imaging what she would rather be doing than just looking at him. Kristoff’s breathing, the size and weight of him...it was unfamiliar but not unwelcome. He took up space in the cabin differently. Things felt hot and crowded and every time she breathed she was aware of where he was and where she was and how much distance was between them. 

***

Kristoff heard Anna leave her bed and turned to watch as she opened and peered around the cabin door, gently shutting it after faint light spilled into the room. He sat up and she turned her head to look at him, speaking quietly. “The sun’s coming up.”

‘Yes.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes, though they weren’t bleary from sleep. It had been a restless night, full of tension and the hope and worry of what ifs. He hadn’t slept and he was sure she hadn’t either.

“So it’s not night anymore.” She walked closer to him, pulling on the end of one of her braids. He sat up on the cot and turned sideways so he sat on the edge, his feet on the floor, his back against the wall.

“Yes.”

“And nothing happened at night. Between us. Just like I said.”

“Yes.” He licked his lips and then stopped, realizing what he wanted to be doing with his lips, and hoping he wasn’t making her uncomfortable. 

“But it’s not night anymore. It’s day.” Her knees bumped against his as she stopped walking to stand right in front of him, and he wondered if her heart was beating as quickly as his. 

“Yes.”

“So. If I kiss you now, I’m not proving you right. Because it’s day.”

Kristoff’s breathing hitched and he wanted to hear her say it again, to be sure he had heard her correctly. Did she want what he wanted? 

He slowly lifted his arms and circled her waist, gently pulling her closer and trapping her legs between his thighs.

“I have never cared less about being right. And it’s fine if you and Ryder have...you know. But I hope you don’t anymore. Because I want to be that for you. I want to be with you.”

“Ryder and I have never. Well, we kissed once when we were still kids and it was so gross I thought maybe I was like Elsa.” She gave a high-pitched laugh before clearing her throat. “That maybe I liked girls like she does. Women. Not the ice powers stuff. But I don’t. I like boys. Or men, I mean. I like men. I like you.”

He lifted his head up and she brought hers down and her braids fell across his bare shoulders. She heard his sharp intake of breath as she reached out to tangle her fingers in his hair and he answered “I like you too.”

She brushed her lips against his and he deepened the kiss with an intensity that made the heat that had been steadily building in her middle all night flare. He suddenly stood and lifted her up, her legs going around his waist and her hands still deep in his hair. He walked with her over to her bed and laid her down, running a hand along her face and whispering “I would very much like to kiss you right now. May I? May we?”

“Yes.” She reached for him, and their hands and mouths and bodies spoke in ways they had been longing to over the course of that night, the past few weeks, the past few months.

***

Later, Anna awoke to a light knocking on the cabin door. She wrapped a blanket around herself and answered, only poking her head out into the cold midday air. 

“Ryder!”

He smiled. “I brought you provisions. I thought you might need them after your night.” He handed her a basket full of food, the warmth and smell of it a welcome thing. “Seara helped me make it. She was very happy to welcome me last night, so thank you for that.” He waggled his eyebrows and bowed his head to her. “I’ll come get my bag later. I think this will be the new permanent arrangement.” He leaned in close. “Unless you tell me things didn’t go well. Because she can wait. She loves me enough to wait.”

Anna smiled and took the basket. “Everything is perfect. Thank you for coming to be sure.” 

***

“There’s a tree there. And there. And there. Kristoff, we’re in a forest. Near a mountain covered in a forest. There are trees literally everywhere.” They walked leisurely through the forest, holding hands, eyes scanning the surrounding woods. Kristoff knew what he was looking for, but Anna did not. Their boots padded softly through the thin layer of snow, almost as light as frost. Sven trotted behind them, stopping occasionally to scratch against the satisfyingly rough bark of a tree.

“We’re looking for a very specific tree.” He paused to put his hand on a tree trunk, then shook his head. “Not that one.”

“What kind? I grew up in a forest. I am actually pretty good at finding very specific trees.” As much as she enjoyed holding his hand and walking, she felt too aimless without a task. 

“Birch. Specifically, a birch burl. And I know you can find one, but I was also hoping to make this sort of a surprise.”

Anna was familiar with burls, the gnarled, knobby parts of a tree that looked like deformed bulges. Woodworkers liked them for carvings or furniture, the beauty of the burl’s insides revealed in swirls and knots and intricately radiant lines. “Are you making something?”

“You need a guksi.” 

Anna smiled at that, thinking about the tradition Seara had told her about Black Mountain men carving and giving their beloved a guksi to demonstrate their willingness to provide and care for her. _Beloved._ That was the word Seara had used. Was it a word Kristoff would say to her when it was made?

Kristoff stopped by a particularly large burl on a medium-sized birch tree. “This will do.”

Anna took her mittens off to run her hands over it. “I love burls. Scary on the outside, waiting for their inner beauty to be revealed. Like someone I know.”

Kristoff laughed. “I’m scary?”

She smiled. “Well no. You were though. Gloomy at least. Now you smile all the time.”

Krsitoff leaned in close to her mouth, she could feel the heat from him as he spoke. “Hmm. I think I know why.”

She moved the last inch between them to press her lips against his and he smiled into their kiss. Kissing him outside in the woods was even better than kissing him inside the cabin: the smell of snow, the bark of the tree against her back as he leaned against her to deepen the kiss, the chill of the wind making the press of his body and the heat it brought to her even more welcome. 

As they walked back, she thought about how he really was like a burl. Formed in the aftermath of injury or disease, a tree turned in on itself for a time, wild and arrested. Instead of giving up, it created something singularly beautiful. She held his hand tightly, grateful that he had chosen to persevere instead of give up, hope over despair. 

***

Several weeks later, Kristoff entered the cabin as Anna sent out three children. They collided with him, giggling as he dropped the bundle in his hand. One of the girls picked it up and gave it to him with bandaged hands. “Do you live here now?”

Kristoff looked over her shoulder and through the door to Anna, tilting his head in question. He wasn’t sure how to answer. He spent most nights in the medical cabin with Anna. The only nights he spent away were those spent camped by the frozen lake for harvesting or in a kota in the woods hunting a day or more’s journey away from the main village. He didn’t want to answer for her, but she seemed more amused than embarrassed by the question, smiling and shrugging as she was. “Uh, yes, I live here now.”

The children giggled again and then ran off. Kristoff knocked snow off of his boots on the doorframe and then pulled the door closed behind him. “They didn’t seem sick. Thankfully. What trouble did they get into?”

“Oh they managed to find a patch of stinging nettles, though how that’s possible when it’s not quite March I don’t know. Maybe the Black Mountain has magic after all.” She had gloves on and picked up a stem of the offending plant. “Could the hot springs keep vegetation heated in the winter? I might set up a medicinal greenhouse near the springs if so.”

Kristoff took off his hat but kept his mittens on to take the plant from her. It had brillianty green leaves, wide at the bottom and smaller at the top. “I think my mother made soup with these.”

“She probably did. It’s edible when prepared the right way. We can also use it to help a mother with milk and to treat breathing problems. You just have to handle it correctly. The children had some burns but it was nothing a little cold pack couldn’t cure.”

Kristoff gave the nettle back to her, and watched as she expertly stripped it and then ground it with her mortar and pestle. He came behind her and rubbed her shoulders as she worked. “I’m so glad you came here. We’re lucky to have you. I’m lucky to have you.”

Anna turned to face him and his arms slid down from her shoulders to her waist. She took her gloves off, then put her hands on his shoulders. “I like being here. And if I strip the seeds just right, whoever is in this cabin next will have a wonderful row of nettles right outside the door in the plot you helped me stake out. We’ll have to plant right as the reindeer start calving, which will be tricky, but I’m sure we can manage. I’m determined to leave this cabin in good order for whoever takes over.”

Kristoff’s grip tightened on her waist and his heart sank with her words. She spoke so certainly of leaving. He wanted to ask her to stay, but was that fair? To ask her to leave her family and her home? She had been training several women in the various remedies she made, and he knew she had plans for training several more people during the calving so they would know how to do it for the next season. But he didn’t just want her for her knowledge of reindeer and medicine. He wanted her.

She brought a joy and a light to his days, a warmth he had thought would remain absent. She had become his family. But he didn’t know how to tell her. And he didn’t know if she felt the same way.

“I made you something.” He reached behind her to where he had placed the bundle on the work table. “I hope it didn’t get damaged when I dropped it.”

Anna took it eagerly and unwrapped the fabric covering, folding it neatly. It looked to be a handcloth she could use for any variety of treatments or medicine applications. As her hand touched the hidden gift, she gasped.

“Oh! It’s the guksi! You made this? It’s so beautiful!” Her hands stroked the deep well and smooth handle. She looked closer and noticed a carving on the edge, right where her hand would grip it when drinking. She rubbed it and felt the shape, a shining sun next to antlers. “The People of the Sun and the People of the Black Mountain! Thank you Kristoff. It’s perfect.”

She hugged it to herself until he reached for it. “May I? You should have a drink out of it.”

He dipped it into the basin of water and held it up to her and she drank deeply. He had a vague memory of his father doing the same for his mother and instead of feeling lonely like memories of his parents had often made him feel, this one made him feel aglow in love and belonging. 

***

In April the pregnant reindeer were so cumbersome that Ryder complained of the extra work it required. Anna scoffed at that.

“Extra work? Are you the one internally carrying a beast with four hooves?”

Seara laughed and Ryder shook his head. “I just mean I’m ready for the calving. Though, I’ve been meaning to tell you, Anna...I’m not ready to go back to Northuldra. I mean, I will go back with you. But just to safely see you home and say goodbye.” He put his arm around Seara and they shared a smile. “I’m going to stay here with Seara.”

Anna clapped her hands in delight. “Oh that’s wonderful!” She reached to embrace them both around the neck as Kristoff rode up to them on Sven. She saw him and a thought she had been pushing away emerged in the space made by Ryder’s news. Did she want to stay as well? Would Kristoff want her to?

“It’s time.”

Reindeer calving was a messy business. And even though Anna had been present at many, she still marveled at the miracle of it: a fully formed reindeer, emerging from its mother in little more than half an hour. A whole herd completed the process in about ten days. Her mother had told her the reindeer did it that way to overwhelm predators as a way to protect the young, but Anna thought it must also be a way to overwhelm the humans who kept the reindeer in their care. At the end of the ten days she felt overwhelmed with the beauty and blood and sleeplessness of it all.

When it was finally over, Kristoff took her back to her cabin on the back of Sven and then carried her inside. He bathed her, the blood and dirt difficult to scrub off of her work-worn hands. He gently lifted her out of the small washtub and wrapped her in blankets, carrying her to her bed where he hoped sleep would right the deep shadows under her eyes. She pulled him down with the strength he had seen on display in the past few weeks, but nevertheless it surprised him coming from one so exhausted.

“Are you sure? Don’t you want to wait until you’re rested? “

She spoke into his ear. “I am sure. And I don’t want to wait.”

***

In May he tilled the earth for her and watched as she carefully placed seeds in the thawing ground. “I hope it’s not too early to plant these; but we’ll be leaving soon.” Anna made signs with detailed pictures and he carved in the symbols his people would recognize. She straightened the bottles and vials and bowls and folded the bandages and checked on the reindeer daily. 

Kristoff wanted to ask her to stay, but still hadn’t found the words. He could show her - giving her a blanket or making her a guksi or even singing with her by the fire. That was easy. But telling her outright . . . he had no idea how to do that. And he wasn’t sure she wanted him to. Would she ever want to leave the woods she spoke so lovingly about? Or the family she was counting down the days until she would see again?

***

“Remember to keep the ones who haven’t shed their winter coats yet out of the sun! They’ll collapse from sun stroke. And harvest that boska soon; it will be ready!” 

Seara nodded. “Yes, Anna. We know. Just go! The sooner you go the sooner Ryder comes back to me.”

Ryder reached for her in one swift motion and dipped her low for a kiss, then righted her once more. They both laughed and then he kissed her again on the nose. “I’ll be back. And you won’t believe the proposal. You’ll be so surprised and happy that I don’t even know if you’ll remember to say yes.”

Seara laughed again and waved him away. “Stop telling me about it if you want it to be a surprise.”

Ryder and Anna rode the reindeer part of the way and walked part of the way, telling each other stories and making guesses about what their families and the rest of the Northuldra had done in their absence. Eventually, talk turned back to the people they had just left behind.

“What’s this proposal you promised to Seara?”

Ryder smiled and rubbed his hands together. “I told her about our tradition of proposing with the herd of reindeer and a smattering of butterflies and a beautiful speech about the bride-to-be’s best qualities. She probably knows I plan to do it, really, but we’re both pretending it’s a surprise.”

“That’s sweet.” Anna stretched her arms as they rode, feeling stiff after sitting so long in one position. “Do they have proposal traditions?”

Ryder nodded, frowning. “Yes. But it involves asking her parents for her hand, and well, they died. So many of the parents did. That’s why I thought to tell her about how Northuldra do it. I thought it would make her laugh.”

“I’m glad you found each other. Though I’ll miss you.”

“I thought for a while you might stay too. Or at least have a long goodbye with Kristoff this morning. Where was he?”

Anna swallowed, suddenly feeling sick and sad. 

The night before, she had told Kristoff not to see her off in the morning. It would be too hard. She loved their time together, she would treasure it always, let’s kiss now and let that be our goodbye.

But it had not made things easier. Each snap of a branch or distant grunt of a reindeer made her turn and look for Kristoff and Sven. Though she was eager to see her parents and sister again, over the past few months she had begun to think of Kristoff as her family. Of course, he had never said as much to her. He gave her thoughtful gifts and spent more time with her than any of his kinsmen. And yet he had remained silent about extending her time with the Black Mountain. Anna thought with a bitter laugh how after years of dismissing men for being “too” something, it was now Kristoff that apparently hadn’t found her “enough,” at least not enough to ask her to stay. 

Ryder saw the bright sheen in her eyes and didn’t push for an answer. He reached over to hold her hand and then her tears started to fall.

***

“Anna! Oh, Anna! It’s so good to see you!” Elsa, Agnarr, and Iduna ran up to Ryder and Anna and crushed her into a hug. Ryder joined the pile and then patted Anna on the shoulder.

“I’m going to go tell my parents and Honeymaren the good news!”

Elsa watched him go and then looked back at Anna. “What good news?”

Anna smiled and tears filled her eyes again. “He’s going to go back to the Black Mountain. He’s going to marry a girl there, Seara.”

Agnarr put his arm around Iduna. “I believe that means I win a certain wager. Your mother thought you might be the one to come back a married woman, or even a mother-to-be.”

Anna tried to keep smiling, but it slipped, and the tears fell down her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away. 

Iduna reached for her, stroking her face with hands Anna had missed, and it made her cry even harder. “Oh Anna, what is it?” She pulled back abruptly. “Anna, are you…” she placed her hand on Anna’s face, noting the deep circles under her eyes, the glow of her skin and luster of her hair. “Anna, you’re pregnant. Maybe two months? Three? How do you feel?”

Elsa and Agnarr looked like twin expressions of shock, their mouths open and eyes wide, and they gripped each other’s hands as Iduna’s felt around Anna’s middle and then stroked her hair.

“Mother, no, I don’t...I don’t know. I suppose I could...Could I?” She cried harder. “He didn’t ask me to stay and I wanted to. I missed you so much but I would have stayed. He's not too irritable or serious like I thought; he's patient and leads well and he's compassionate to the point of ridiculousness and I love him so much and why did I leave? Home is with him.”

Iduna stroked her hair and let her cry. “It’s alright, Anna. It’s alright. Everything is going to be alright.”

***

Anna had felt relief at her mother’s words, but she didn’t see how they could be true. 

Ryder, Honeymaren, and their parents came into her family’s kota for an evening meal. Iduna had been preventing Agnarr from bothering Anna with questions, but he seized the opportunity to ask Ryder all about Kristoff.

“And how did he treat our daughter? Was he true in his affections?”

Ryder took a large bite of meat and nodded, answering with his mouth still full. “Oh yes, he was definitely true. I mean, they did get married.”

Agnarr, about to ask a follow up question, sputtered. Anna choked a little on her sip of water, wiping some with her sleeve as it dribbled down her chin. Elsa opened her eyes wide and asked “Wait, what?” in an incredulous voice.

“Yes, some ancient traditional way. There wasn’t a ceremony or anything. I didn’t realize it, but apparently all of the Black Mountain people did. Seara told me.”

Anna shook her head, completely confused. “What are you talking about? We didn’t get married.”

Ryder was emphatic. “You shared a guksi in public. He made her one as a gift. You sleep in the same cabin and sang together at gatherings. He gave her a blanket with his family’s pattern. You planted seeds.” He startled at the strangled noise Agnarr made. “Actual seeds. That’s not a metaphor.”

Anna covered her mouth with her hands half-laughed, half-cried into them. Elsa put an arm around her. Before she could figure out how to respond to that revelation, she heard the sound she had been longing to hear since leaving the Black Mountain. A distinctive reindeer grunt and a voice calling out “Anna! Anna! Where are you?”

She pushed her way out of the tent and saw him. He was sweaty and had a slightly crazed-look in his eye, one she recognized from their search for Sven. With a sharp stab of happiness and relief, she realized that now she was the one he was desperate to find. 

He ran to her and crushed her into a hug, nestling his head down to her shoulder. “I left a few hours after you did. Seara found me moping and told me I was being an idiot and she was right. I forgot. I forgot how to tell people that I love that I love them. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you to stay. But please come with me now. I love you. I want you with me always.”

He pulled away from her and saw her tears. Her family had come out of the tent, and Ryder with them. 

“Kristoff! Clear this up, will you? They don’t think you two are married.”

Kristoff looked at Anna and scratched at the back of his neck. “Well, I didn’t realize it, but Seara told me. We performed the rituals, and they were witnessed, but Anna you didn’t know and I’ll not hold you to them. I love you and do want to marry you, but you can’t be held to what you didn’t know. It’s an old tradition, I didn't even remember it.”

Anna laughed and wiped at her face, still wet from so many tears. "Well it just makes sense as a tradition. Those are obviously things that people in love do; we did them. And I would like to keep doing them with you forever." Kristoff’s face broke into a grin and he took a relieved breath, shoulders heaving. Even Sven seemed to be grunting in a happy way.

“But oh! I didn’t realize it Kristoff, but my mother, she did. We’re going to have a baby. In seven months or so.” His mouth hung open and he reached for her, lifting her high in the air and twirling her around and setting her down gently. 

“Oh! Should I have not done that?” He looked to Iduna. “Is she alright? Did I just harm the baby?”

Iduna shook her head. “She’s as fit as a fiddle and I’m sure the baby is too. But maybe don’t head back to the Black Mountain tonight.”

Agnarr stepped forward and extended his hand. “Join us for a meal. After all, you’re family.”

***

That night, they huddled together not out of cold or fear but out of gratefulness that they had found one another. Kristoff rubbed his nose behind her ear and laid a hand on her stomach, whispering. “I love you. Both of you.”

She reached over to stroke his beard. “I love you too.”


	4. Epilogue

He was like a reindeer, Anna decided. One who had been wounded and though not lame physically, still shied at the sound of branches cracking as they fell or the call of a wolf at night. Not that falling branches or predatory beasts would scare Kristoff. He had tossed torches at wolves encroaching on the ice harvesting encampments, had shoved her out of the way when an ice-laden branch snapped and fell quicker than he could warn her with words. He was steady and calm in danger. 

But now that Anna was pregnant, he was skittish in a way she had never seen.

His worries grew as she did. 

The first time he insisted on accompanying her on her rounds to tend the herd, carrying her medical kit and wrangling the reindeer, was the same morning she had laughed and showed him how her gatki was straining at the seams, the neat stitches pulled tight and threatening to snap. A month later, wearing a looser gatki, a square silver button had popped off of her belt and he had come home to the medical cabin to find her looking for it on hands and knees. He had scooped her up as if she was trying to beat a fire out with her bare hands and not just searching on the hard-packed floor for a button he had gifted her after bringing her back to the Black Mountain as his bride. 

Sadness left its mark. Anna had seen that in the families who lost loved ones back home in the Enchanted Forest. And in her new home with the people of the Black Mountain, where too many kotas were missing a mother or father or daughter or son, where leadership had been set on Kristoff’s shoulders far earlier than he had expected when his father and mother both died during the outbreak, Anna understood that his fear was in losing someone he loved.

She tried to reassure him.

“I’ve helped hundreds give birth, this will be fine!”

His grip around her tightened as they lay in bed together, his head burrowing into the smooth skin at the back of her neck. “Well sure, but they were reindeer.”

“Yes, and they have four hooves! Human babies are much squishier and smaller. It will be easy. Or maybe not easy, but fine.” She turned so he could see her as she spoke, so her words might be better believed if he saw that she meant them. His hand traced the pattern of freckles on her cheek and she covered his hand with her own, squeezing it. “Anyway I’ve attended actual baby births too. Human births. Two legs. No hooves. It’s the head that’s tricky there, especially for narrow women with large husbands.”

“Like us.” He sat up, disentangling their arms and legs which had been pleasantly entwined against the chill of winter. 

She pulled him back down to her, put his hand on her growing middle so he would feel the life there. “I’m strong. This baby is strong. We will be fine. I’m certain of it.”

He ran his fingertips against her skin, as though the weight of his entire hand might be too much. The worry was in his tense shoulders, the tightness in his eyes, the way he held her close but wouldn’t cover her body with his anymore. 

She pushed him into the furs on their bed and he let her. 

“Shhh, shhh,” she said, running her finger along the bridge of his nose.

He sighed. “I know what you’re doing.” But he didn’t sound upset about it, so she continued.

“Then let me do it. You need to calm and I need the practice soothing fussy babies.” He closed his eyes and she kept stroking, humming at first then singing. She sang a lullaby about ice and rivers, not like his that would break apart with steady blows. Ice that was strong, unyielding. And she hoped that he knew she was just as strong. 

***

Just when she was sweaty and gasping and certain she couldn’t do it anymore, Iduna and Elsa burst into the medical cabin.

“What are you doing here?” she managed to pant, breathing quickly as the contraction took over and the last word turned into a groan. Elsa cooled Anna’s forehead with thin tendrils of ice she drew out of the air and Iduna helped Anna lean forward, rubbing her back as the contraction continued. 

“I sent for them,” Kristoff said, standing in the doorway. He was as pale as Anna, clutching his hat in his hands and grimacing, as if by his discomfort he could help her.

“How did you get here in time?” Anna asked, looking at her mother. “It’s so far.”

“I sent for them a while ago. Before your labor started.” Kristoff worried his hat some more and looked at Anna. “Was that alright?”

Anna leaned heavily onto her mother and tried to smile at him, tried to show him her strength even though she felt like a fishing net full to bursting. “Yes, Kristoff. That was just right.”

“I’ll, uh, I’ll see to the reindeer,” Kristoff said, stepping back out into the winter chill and closing the door behind him. 

Iduna let go of Anna and rummaged through the basket she had brought, pulling out what Anna could guess was tea leaves meant to ease the labor. Anna closed her eyes as her mother said “Shhh, shhh, you’ll be alright. “ 

She believed it.

***

Iduna brought Kristoff in to meet his son once they had wiped him down and Anna too, her hair arranged and the bloody blankets moved to a washtub in the corner. 

“I thought we could call him Harri, after your father,” Anna said as he leaned down to kiss her forehead and then the baby’s cheek. He straightened and then slowly, gently lifted the baby out of her arms and nestled him against his chest. Iduna and Elsa left with the washing, closing the door firmly and conspicuously on the way out, leaving the new family on their own. 

“You have a very strong mother, little Harri,” Kristoff said, looking at their son and then to Anna. He sat on the chair next to the bed and Anna smiled.

“The first baby is always the hardest. Seconds are much easier. Thirds and fourths easier yet. And by the fifth? You won’t even send for my mother and sister anymore. It won’t even feel like a miracle.”

“Fifth?” Kristoff smiled, shaking his head. “It will always feel like a miracle.” He cradled their son against his chest with one arm and reached for Anna’s hand. “I know you could do this five times but I’m not certain I can.”

“Isn’t it worth it though?” Anna squeezed Kristoff’s hand and then leaned over Harri to rub her nose against his. “Aren’t you glad he’s here?”

Kristoff watched as Harri’s eyelids fluttered at the touch. “I’m very glad he’s here. And that you still are.” Anna settled back against the pillows and he arranged the blankets around her with one hand. 

“Of course I’m still here. This is home,” she said, yawning and closing her eyes. Kristoff watched as she stilled and then slept, and then at Harri as he nestled his head against Kristoff’s chest and slept on. 

On a different day, he might think about the people who weren’t still here - his mother and father, friends he had grown up with, the woman who had tended to injuries and illness in this cabin before the sickness carried all of them away. But just now it was easy to think about who was here - his son in his arms and his wife in his bed, both sleeping and safe and home.


End file.
